A massive wooden head with snapping jaw mechanism, real horns and hair. Photo from 1883-1891.  The Dorset Ooser has possible connections to the horned costumes sometimes worn by participants in English Mummers plays. The etymology of Ooser is also disputed, with various possibilities available, but I think it's most likely the same as the Oss, a snapping skull paraded around during midwinter. The pronunciation is very similar, and it's simply a way of saying "horse" without pronouncing the h. These teeth-gnashing heads are also known as 'obby 'oss or hobby horse.  One use of the Dorset Ooser was to strike fear into villagers who were perceived as shameful. Usually the target was an unruly wife who had disobeyed her husband by raising her voice, scolding him, beating him, or cheating on him. A woman who was perceived as a bad wife was forced to ride backwards on a donkey or horse while the angry Ooser snapped his jaw at her and a crowd of villagers beat their...

Tarot of Marseilles Here we have a Medieval depiction of the devil, with antlers, long ears, several faces on his body, and bat wings. Before him, two smaller figures with antlers, long ears, and long tails, are tied down. What could this mean? The numbers fifteen could be thought of as 1+5=6. In which case there is a strong link to the sixth card, The Lovers. Indeed we see a similar scene. Both cards feature a couple facing each other, with an influential figure above them. The Lovers are brought together by Cupid's arrow, inflaming their hearts with adoration for one another. The Devil however represents the animalistic lust of carnal desire. The couple are bound by ropes around the neck, representing their servitude. When you live a life in servitude to your materialistic desires, you experience suffering, because no matter how much you feed your desires, you will always want more. You become enslaved by your desire for more. Quite literally, the couple are experiencing a...

I have applied to exhibit my work at the New Forest Fairy Festival, so I'm thinking about fairies a lot and what they mean to me. Fairies seem to have become smaller and cuter over the centuries, to the point where in the Victorian era the fairies became tiny children with insect wings. But what were fairies seen as back in the middle ages? They were scary creatures, and you could be condemned to death for consorting with the fair folk. In 1691, a Scottish clergyman, Robert Kirk, recorded popular folklore of the time in The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies: "These siths, or fairies, they call Sleagh Maith, or the Good People, it would seem, to prevent the dint of their ill attempts, (for the Irish use to bless all they fear harm of,) and are said to be of middle nature betwixt man and angel, as were daemons thought to be of old; of intelligent fluidious spirits, and light changeable bodies, (like those called astral,) somewhat of the nature of a condensed...